Gmail 4.2.1 brings email zooming to all Android 4 devices

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The Gmail app on Android has been updated, bringing the latest app enhancements to a wider audience.

First seen as a new version of Google's email app in Android 4.2.1, Gmail 4.2.1 is now available for all devices running Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich and above.

The biggest change that the app brings with it is auto-fit messages. This setting, which has to be enabled via the settings menu, means that messages will shrink to fit the display, rather than forcing you to scroll left and right to view something that, for example, contained embedded images.

Part of this system is pinch zooming, so if you want to resize an email yourself you can do so instantly. You can also swipe to archive or delete emails, along with various other tweaks and bug fixes.

For some time, the lack of flexibility in Gmail has been a common complaint of Android users, and thanks to Google's smart move of separating core apps like Gmail, Calendar and Google Play from the core OS, the newest features are now available to more Android users, regardless of whether their device OS is the latest.